Page 102 of What Matters Most

“Logan phoned earlier and said he wouldn’t be at the game, either. Are you two up to something we should know about?” he teased. “Like running off and getting married?”

Abby felt the color flow out of her face, and her heart raced. “No,” she breathed, hardly able to find her voice. “That’s not it at all.”

Her hand was trembling when she replaced the receiver a couple of minutes later. So Logan had decided not to play on Wednesday. If he was quitting softball, she could assume he’d also stop attending classes on Tuesday nights. The possibility of their running into each other at work was still present, since their offices were only half a block apart, but he must be going out of his way to avoid any possible meeting. For that matter, she was doing the same thing.

Soon Abby’s apartment began to feel like her prison. She did everything she could to take her mind off Logan, but as the weeks progressed, it became more and more difficult. Much as she didn’t want to talk to anyone or provide long explanations about Logan’s absence, Abby couldn’t tolerate another night alone. She had to get out. So after work the following Wednesday, she got in her car and started to drive.

Before she realized where she was headed, Abby pulled into her parents’ driveway.

“Hi, Mom,” Abby said as she let herself in the front door.

Her father was reading the paper, and Abby paused at his side. She placed her hand on his shoulder, kissing him lightly on the forehead. “What’s that for?” Frank Carpenter grumbled as his arm curved around her waist. “Do you need a loan?”

“Nope,” Abby said with forced cheer. “I was just thinking that I don’t say I love you nearly enough.” She glanced up at her mother. “I’m fortunate to have such good parents.”

“How sweet,” Glenna murmured softly, but her eyes were clouded with obvious worry. “Is everything all right?”

Abby restrained the compulsion to cry out that nothing was right anymore. Not without Logan. She left almost as quickly as she’d come, making an excuse about hurrying home to feed Dano. That weak explanation hadn’t fooled her perceptive mother. Abby was grateful Glenna didn’t pry.

Another week passed and Abby didn’t see Logan. Not that she’d expected to. He was avoiding her as determinedly as she did him. Seeing him would mean only pain. She lost weight, and the dark circles under her eyes testified to her inability to sleep.

Sunday morning, Abby headed straight for the park, intent on finding Logan. Even a glimpse would ease the pain she’d suffered without him. She wondered if his face would reveal any of the same torment she had endured. Surely he regretted his lack of trust. He must miss her—perhaps even enough to set aside their differences and talk to her. And if he did, Abby knew she’d readily respond. She imagined the possible scenes that might play out—from complete acceptance on his part to total rejection.

There was a certain irony in her predicament. Tate had been exceptionally busy and she hadn’t tutored him at all that week. He was doing so well now that it wouldn’t be more than a month before he’d be reading and writing at an adult level. Once he’d completed the lessons, Abby doubted she’d see him very often, despite the friendship that had developed between them. They had little in common and Tate had placed her on such a high pedestal that Abby didn’t think he’d ever truly see her as a woman. He saw her as his rescuer, his salvation—not a position Abby felt she deserved.

She sat near the front entrance of the park so she wouldn’t miss Logan if he showed up. She made a pretense of reading, but her eyes followed each person entering the park. By noon, she’d been waiting for three hours and Logan had yet to arrive. Abby felt sick with disappointment. Logan came to the park every Sunday morning. Certainly he wouldn’t change that, too—would he?

Defeated, Abby closed her book and meandered down the path. She’d been sitting there since nine, so she was sure she hadn’t missed him. As she strolled through the park, Abby saw several people she knew and paused to wave but walked on, not wanting to be drawn into conversation.

Dick Snyder’s wife was there with her two school-aged children. She called out Abby’s name.

“Hi! Come on over and join me. It’ll be nice to have an adult to talk to for a while.” Betty Snyder chatted easily, patting an empty space on the park bench. “I keep telling Dick that one of these days I’m going mountain climbing and leaving him with the kids.” Her smile was bright.

Abby sat on the bench beside Betty, deciding she could do with a little conversation herself. “Is he at it again?” she asked, already knowing the answer. Dick thrived on challenge. Abby couldn’t understand how anyone could climb anything. Heights bothered her too much. She remembered once—

“Dick and Logan.”

“Logan?” His name cut into her thoughts and a tightness twisted her stomach. “He’s not climbing, is he?” She didn’t even try to hide the alarm in her voice. Logan was no mountaineer! Oh, he enjoyed a hike in the woods, but he’d never shown any interest in conquering anything higher than a sand dune.

Betty looked at her in surprise. She’d obviously assumed Abby would know who Logan was with and what he was up to.

“Well, yes,” Betty hedged. “I thought you knew. The Rainier climb is in two weeks.”

“No, I didn’t.” Abby swallowed. “Logan hasn’t said anything.”

“He was probably waiting until he’d finished learning the basics from Dick.”

“Probably,” Abby replied weakly, her voice fading as terror overwhelmed her. Logan climbing mountains? With a dignity she didn’t realize she possessed, Abby met Betty’s gaze head-on. It would sound ridiculous to tell Betty that this latest adventure had slipped Logan’s mind. The fact was, Abby knew it hadn’t. She recalled Logan’s telling her that Dick was looking for an extra climber. But he hadn’t said it as though he was considering it himself.

Betty continued, apparently trying to fill the stunned silence. “You don’t need to worry. Dick’s a good climber. I’d go crazy if he weren’t. I have complete and utter confidence in him. You shouldn’t worry about Logan. He and Dick have been spending a lot of time together preparing for this. Rainier is an excellent climb for a first ascent.”

Abby heard almost nothing of Betty’s pep talk, and her heart sank. This had to be some cruel hoax. Logan was an accountant. He didn’t have the physical endurance needed to ascend fourteen thousand feet. He wasn’t qualified to do any kind of climbing, let alone a whole mountain. Someone else should go. Not Logan.

Not the man she loved.

Betty’s two rambunctious boys returned and closed around the women, chatting excitedly about a squirrel they’d seen. The minute she could do so politely, Abby slipped away from the family and hurried out of the park. She had to get to Logan—talk some sense into him.

Abby returned to her apartment and got in her car. She drove around, dredging up the nerve to confront Logan. If he was out practicing with Dick, he wouldn’t be back until dark. Twice she drove by his place, but his parking space was empty.

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